Dupont Facing Fines Over Teflon

Non-stick Product Toxic, Epa Charges

July 9, 2004|By Juliet Eilperin The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking fines totaling millions of dollars from DuPont on the grounds that the chemical giant failed for two decades to report possible health and environmental problems linked to a key ingredient used in making Teflon, agency officials said Thursday.

Tom Skinner, head of EPA's Office of Enforcement, said the penalty -- which would dwarf any the agency has levied for toxic contamination and could become the largest environmental levy in U.S. history -- was "intended to send a message to DuPont and everyone else this type of information must be provided" so officials "can make valid assessments of the risks posed by various substances ...."

The company has 30 days to respond to EPA's complaint.

The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, is a soaplike material used in making stain- and stick-resistant surfaces and materials for a wide array of products, including Gortex and pizza boxes. The substance, also known as C-8 or PFOA, has been linked in industry studies to cancer and birth defects in animals.

The agency had been pressed to act on C-8 by the Environmental Working Group, a private advocacy group, and by Ohio and West Virginia residents who are suing DuPont over claims that it contaminated soil and drinking water around the company's Parkersburg, W.Va., plant. Both welcomed the agency's move but said it could have taken tougher action.

"The good news is EPA woke up and took notice," said EWG president Ken Cook, whose group filed a petition in 2003 calling on EPA to act. "The bad news is we have no idea whatsoever what this means for DuPont."

DuPont said Thursday it would contest the complaint, which will be handled through administrative channels but is subject to appeal in federal court.

"DuPont has provided substantial information to EPA supporting our conclusion that we have followed the law," said DuPont general counsel Stacey Mobley. "We will ... vigorously defend our position."

It remains to be seen how big a fine EPA will seek from DuPont, but it could theoretically run into the hundreds of millions. The largest fine the agency has imposed under the Toxic Substances Control Act is $2 million, Skinner said, and the biggest civil penalty under any federal environmental law was a $30 million fine, plus $5 million in environmental projects, imposed Jan. 13 on Koch Industries Inc. of Wichita, Kan., for oil spills.

C-8 is not regulated, but under federal law any chemical manufacturer who learns a product presents "a substantial risk" of health or the environmental harm must inform EPA.

EPA is conducting tests to monitor how C-8 degrades in the environment, though Skinner said the agency is not seeking to ban the chemical.

Residents of West Virginia and Ohio who are suing DuPont have alleged they are suffering from an array of health problems they attribute to dumping of C-8, including respiratory problems, skin rashes and cancer.

Part of EPA's complaint stems from industry studies in 1981 suggesting that C-8 might be linked to birth defects in animals. After two women working in the Parkersburg, W.Va., plant had children with defects that resembled those found in animals, DuPont transferred women of childbearing age away from areas where the chemical was made. The company did not tell EPA about the action, but it did inform the West Virginia Division of Water Resources.